Macomb, South Dix, and Grace Peak (May 20, 2025)
TL;DR: No spikes needed, trail in good condition without a ton of blow-down despite recent rain, and conditions had us moving quickly enough to nab two extra peaks.
I had the pleasure of guiding Tom on the southern half of the Dix Range from Elk Lake yesterday. We didn't realize until afterward that we had chosen to hike on the 133rd anniversary of the Adirondack Park! It was fitting, though, because what we had planned to be a single peak day, Macomb, turned into a triple-decker as decided to continue onto South Dix and Grace Peak as well.
Temps hovered in the high 30s and mid 40s throughout the day, which was a blessed change from when we went up Esther on Saturday in 70-degree heat with tons of bugs for company. Yesterday, not even insects kept us company and the trails were completely empty — except for one early bird who went up Macomb at 3am. She reported her hike up Lillian Brook being "not fun" with all the blow-down and a stark change from her usual switchback-laden Colorado hikes.
Going up the Slide Brook trail was enjoyable, and both Tom and I commented that it felt easier than our recent trips up Esther and Colvin. There was a mile or so of rock-hopping and mud-dodging in the first section leaving Elk Lake, and then a very muddy bit after the slide, but the rest of the day was surprisingly and comparatively dry considering the rain we've had lately.
We took our time going up the slide due to all the loose gravel and rocks, avoiding most of the slab since they were wet. But nothing too difficult. In fact, the hardest part of that steep section was directly after exiting the slide as we hauled ourselves up a muddy slope donned with ravaged trees.
Upon reaching Macomb's summit, we were transfixed by the ice raining down from above. Not snowing or hailing, it was the ice crystals that had formed on the tips of the trees overnight and were now melting enough to shower down. That, and one small patch at the shoulder between Macomb and South Dix was all the snow or ice we saw the entire day.
Having made it up Macomb (Tom's 24th peak) in three hours, the day still young, and our legs feeling fresh, we decided to continue 1 mile over to South Dix (Tom's 25th). The 600-ft descent was smooth with hardly any scrambling, and the 200-ft ascent super fun on the expose rock — a very alpine feel.
Again, we felt great, and decided to continue another mile over to Grace (Tom's 26th) rather than orphan it for another day. I highly recommend that if you're at South Dix, you might as well do Grace too. That 300-ft descent was a little more slippery, but the ascent back up to went by very quickly. As long as we were out there, we decided we might as well go to where the sidewalk ends at the Great Slide Lookout — what a stunning view and well-worth the extra few minutes down the trail.
What goes up must come down, so we turned around at 1pm to head back over South Dix, and then back up Macomb, which we reached at 3pm. It took about an hour on each section between the peaks.
Going down the slide was a slower affair than going up, but we descended without incident and could hustle after getting back into the woods. A quick snack break at the Slide Brook campsites, and then were back into the flat-ish and muddy 2.3 miles back to Elk Lake. We signed out at about 6pm having spent roughly 11 hours on the trail for the 12-ish miles. It was 4 miles more than we planned, but a perfect day to spend outside and we were so glad we did the extra peaks.
Timeline:
7:15am Departed from Elk Lake trailhead
8:15am Reached the Slide Brook campsite and intersection
9:15am Reached the base of the slide
10:30am Reached the summit of Macomb (3.25 hours)
11:45am Reached the summit of South Dix (4.5 hours)
12:30pm Reached the summit of Grace (5.25 hours)
2:00pm Returned to the summit of South Dix
2:45pm Returned to the summit of Macomb (7.5 hours)
4:15pm Reached the bottom of the slide
5:00pm Returned to the Slide Brook campsite/intersection
6:00pm Returned to the Elk Lake trailhead (10.75 hours)
See more pictures from the adventure in our Photo Stream.